Press release: EMEC opens up free access opportunity through MaRINET2

The second call for MaRINET2 applications opens next Monday, 15th January 2018.

As a partner in the MaRINET2 initiative, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is encouraging wind, wave and tidal energy developers, supply chain companies and research organisations to apply for access to the centre’s test facilities.

Projects can be focused on testing marine energy devices, components or subsystems for short to medium term durations.

Through MaRINET2, successful applications will receive free access to EMEC’s world-leading testing infrastructure which includes four offshore sites and a range of associated testing equipment. A contribution towards travel and subsistence costs for users of the initiative is also available.

The call is targeted at companies developing systems and components for the offshore energy sector, including wind, wave and tidal energy technologies.

Matthew Finn, Senior Business Development Manager at EMEC, discusses the opportunity:

“MaRINET provides emerging technology developers with an excellent route to testing their machines at EMEC and working with the Orkney supply chain who have unprecedented experience of marine energy deployments. The companies that tested at EMEC through the first MaRINET project found that the learning generated from deploying in the sea has been invaluable to the development of their technologies.

“As well as device developers, we would also like to encourage companies from across the European supply chain to consider whether running a test and demonstration project in the sea at EMEC could add value to their products.”

For details on eligibility criteria, how to apply, available testing infrastructures etc, please visit the Marinet2 website: www.marinet2.eu

MaRINET2 follows on from the first highly successful MaRINET project where over 700 weeks of access was made available to 178 projects and 800 companies over the 4.5 year initiative.

Alejandro Marques de Magallanes, Managing Director of Magallanes Renovables, recounts the company’s success from the first MaRINET funding project:

“Installing our 1:10 scale ‘ATIR’ prototype at EMEC’s Shapinsay Sound scale test site allowed us to demonstrate the integrity and viability of the concept and its subsystems in a real sea climate. The real sea experience provided us with a better understanding of the operations and maintenance requirements for the system and we are grateful to the MaRINET project and EMEC for enabling us to benefit from access to the test site.

“MaRINET also aided our success with Horizon 2020, and data obtained through these initial trials is now being fed into the design of our 2MW floating platform being developed as part of the H2020 Ocean_2G project. The second generation ATIR is due to be installed at EMEC’s grid-connected test site following controlled tests in Vigo, Spain.”